Faculty Bibliography

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVE:Current research on the female belt voice has generally been limited to the range of C5, which is not representative of the current requirements on Broadway. Additionally, much belt research uses voice teachers or college students. The goal of this study was to acoustically examine both higher and lower belt ranges in 10 women who have performed belt roles on Broadway during the last decade. METHOD/METHODS:We analyzed the long-term average spectrum of the middle stable portion of three belted pitches, one from a lower, more traditional belt song and two from a higher, more contemporary belt song. The dB levels of the first three peaks in the long-term average spectrum corresponding to the first three harmonics were extracted and compared across tasks. Age, professional roles played on Broadway, and self-perceived belt strategy were obtained via interview to find potential unifying factors in resonance strategies. RESULTS:Overall, the dB level of the peaks closest to the second and third harmonics were higher than the peak close to the fundamental frequency. The difference between peaks was statistically greater in the lower belt compared to both higher belt tasks, indicating these singers relied more on a single harmonic in the lower belt range than the higher belt range. In the higher belt range, there was less variability between peaks. No patterns emerged between resonance strategies and demographic information. CONCLUSIONS:Elite female belters use varying resonance strategies to create commercially viable belt sounds in different belt ranges.

OBJECTIVES/OBJECTIVE:Cochlear implants (CIs) restore speech perception in quiet but they also eliminate or distort many acoustic cues that are important for music enjoyment. Unfortunately, quantifying music enjoyment by CI users has been difficult because comparisons must rely on their recollection of music before they lost their hearing. Here, we aimed to assess music enjoyment in CI users using a readily interpretable reference based on acoustic hearing. The comparison was done by testing "single-sided deafness" (SSD) patients who have normal hearing (NH) in one ear and a CI in the other ear. The study also aimed to assess binaural musical enjoyment, with the reference being the experience of hearing with a single NH ear. Three experiments assessed the effect of adding different kinds of input to the second ear: electrical, vocoded, or unmodified. DESIGN/METHODS:In experiment 1, music enjoyment in SSD-CI users was investigated using a modified version of the MUSHRA (MUltiple Stimuli with Hidden Reference and Anchor) method. Listeners rated their enjoyment of song segments on a scale of 0 to 200, where 100 represented the enjoyment obtained from a song segment presented to the NH ear, 0 represented a highly degraded version of the same song segment presented to the same ear, and 200 represented enjoyment subjectively rated as twice as good as the 100 reference. Stimuli consisted of acoustic only, electric only, acoustic and electric, as well as other conditions with low pass filtered acoustic stimuli. Acoustic stimulation was provided by headphone to the NH ear and electric stimulation was provided by direct audio input to the subject's speech processor. In experiment 2, the task was repeated using NH listeners who received vocoded stimuli instead of electric stimuli. Experiment 3 tested the effect of adding the same unmodified song segment to the second ear, also in NH listeners. RESULTS:Music presented through the CI only was very unpleasant, with an average rating of 20. Surprisingly, the combination of the unpleasant CI signal in one ear with acoustic stimulation in the other ear was rated more enjoyable (mean = 123) than acoustic processing alone. Presentation of the same monaural musical signal to both ears in NH listeners resulted with even greater enhancement of the experience compared with presentation to a single ear (mean = 159). Repeating the experiment using a vocoder to one ear of NH listeners resulted in interference rather than enhancement. CONCLUSIONS:Music enjoyment from electric stimulation is extremely poor relative to a readily interpretable NH baseline for CI-SSD listeners. However, the combination of this unenjoyable signal presented through a CI and an unmodified acoustic signal presented to a NH (or near-NH) contralateral ear results in enhanced music enjoyment with respect to the acoustic signal alone. Remarkably, this two-ear enhancement experienced by CI-SSD listeners represents a substantial fraction of the two-ear enhancement seen in NH listeners. This unexpected benefit of electroacoustic auditory stimulation will have to be considered in theoretical accounts of music enjoyment and may facilitate the quest to enhance music enjoyment in CI users.

OBJECTIVE:To determine the diagnostic efficacy and clinical value of preoperative computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) among patients with suspected temporal bone encephaloceles (TBE). STUDY DESIGN/METHODS:Retrospective chart review from 2006 to 2018. SETTING/METHODS:Tertiary referral center. SUBJECTS AND METHODS/METHODS:The subjects underwent surgery for a clinically suspected TBE or cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leak. Preoperative imaging test characteristics of CT and MRI, including sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), and negative predictive value (NPV), were calculated for TBE scans and compared with intraoperative findings. RESULTS:= .004). CONCLUSION/CONCLUSIONS:CT and MRI provide complementary information that may aid surgical planning. However, imaging cannot always rule out TBE. In cases with high clinical suspicion, surgical confirmation is often required for definitive diagnosis and treatment. The cost of an additional preoperative study should be considered before its use.

OBJECTIVE:The effectiveness of upper airway stimulation via hypoglossal nerve stimulation for obstructive sleep apnea depends upon the pattern of tongue muscle activation produced. This study investigated the nature of contralateral tongue muscle activation by unilateral hypoglossal nerve stimulation using intraoperative nerve integrity monitoring in conjunction with electromyography and explored the relationship between contralateral tongue muscle activation and polysomnographic measures of obstructive sleep apnea severity. STUDY DESIGN/METHODS:Prospective case series. SETTING/METHODS:Tertiary care medical center. SUBJECTS AND METHODS/METHODS:Fifty-one patients underwent unilateral (right) hypoglossal nerve stimulator implantation for obstructive sleep apnea. Neurophysiological data included electromyographic responses in ipsilateral (right) and contralateral (left) genioglossus muscles in response to intraoperative bipolar probe stimulation (0.3 mA) of medial hypoglossal nerve branches. Clinical data included pre- and postoperative apnea-hypopnea indices and oxygen desaturation levels. RESULTS:A subset of patients (20/51, 39%) exhibited electromyographic responses in both the ipsilateral and contralateral genioglossus (bilateral), whereas the remaining patients (31/51, 61%) exhibited electromyographic responses only in the ipsilateral genioglossus (unilateral). The baseline characteristics of bilateral and unilateral responders were similar. Both groups exhibited significant and comparable improvements in apnea-hypopnea index and oxygen desaturations after hypoglossal nerve stimulation. Neither the amplitude nor the latency of contralateral genioglossus responses was predictive of clinical outcomes. CONCLUSION/CONCLUSIONS:A subset of patients undergoing unilateral hypoglossal nerve stimulation exhibits activation of contralateral genioglossus muscles. Patients with unilateral and bilateral genioglossus responses exhibit comparable, robust improvements in apnea-hypopnea index and oxygen desaturation levels.

OBJECTIVE:Although a growing body of data support the functional connectivity between the precuneus and the medial temporal lobe during states of resting consciousness as well as during a diverse array of higher-order functions, direct structural evidence on this subcortical circuitry is scarce. Here, the authors investigate the very existence, anatomical consistency, morphology, and spatial relationships of the cingulum bundle V (CB-V), a fiber tract that has been reported to reside close to the inferior arm of the cingulum (CingI). METHODS:Fifteen normal, formalin-fixed cerebral hemispheres from adults were treated with Klingler's method and subsequently investigated through the fiber microdissection technique in a medial to lateral direction. RESULTS:A distinct group of fibers is invariably identified in the subcortical territory of the posteromedial cortex, connecting the precuneus and the medial temporal lobe. This tract follows the trajectory of the parietooccipital sulcus in a close spatial relationship with the CingI and the sledge runner fasciculus. It extends inferiorly to the parahippocampal place area and retrosplenial complex area, followed by a lateral curve to terminate toward the fusiform face area (Brodmann area [BA] 37) and lateral piriform area (BA35). Taking into account the aforementioned subcortical architecture, the CB-V allegedly participates as a major subcortical stream within the default mode network, possibly subserving the transfer of multimodal cues relevant to visuospatial, facial, and mnemonic information to the precuneal hub. Although robust clinical evidence on the functional role of this stream is lacking, the modern neurosurgeon should be aware of this tract when manipulating cerebral areas en route to lesions residing in or around the ventricular trigone. CONCLUSIONS:Through the fiber microdissection technique, the authors were able to provide original, direct structural evidence on the existence, morphology, axonal connectivity, and correlative anatomy of what proved to be a discrete white matter pathway, previously described as the CB-V, connecting the precuneus and medial temporal lobe.

Acute injury of the trigeminal nerve or its branches can result in posttraumatic trigeminal neuropathy (PTTN). Affected patients suffer from chronic debilitating symptoms long after they have recovered from the inciting trauma. Symptoms vary but usually consist of paresthesia, allodynia, dysesthesia, hyperalgesia, or a combination of these symptoms. PTTN of the trigeminal nerve can result from a variety of traumas, including iatrogenic injury from various dental and maxillofacial procedures. Treatments include medications, pulsed radiofrequency modulation, and microsurgical repair. Although trigeminal nerve stimulation has been reported for trigeminal neuropathy, V3 implantation is often avoided because of an elevated migration risk secondary to mandibular motion, and lingual nerve implantation has not been documented. Here, the authors report on a patient who suffered from refractory PTTN despite multiple alternative treatments. He elected to undergo novel placement of a lingual nerve stimulator for neuromodulation therapy. To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first documented case of lingual nerve stimulator implantation for lingual neuropathy, a technique for potentially reducing the risk of electrode migration.

Flexible laryngoscopy, the gold-standard evaluation of the larynx and the pharynx, is one of the most commonly performed procedures in otolaryngology. During the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, flexible laryngoscopy represents a risk for patients and an occupational hazard for otolaryngologists and any clinic staff involved with the procedure or endoscope reprocessing. Here we present a set of recommendations on flexible laryngoscopy performance during the pandemic, including patient selection, personal protective equipment, and endoscope disinfection, based on a consensus reached during a virtual webinar on March 24, 2020, attended by approximately 300 participants from the American laryngology community.

BACKGROUND:Some petroclival meningiomas cause trigeminal nerve compression leading to disabling trigeminal neuralgia. Tumor resection and nerve decompression can offer pain relief but may not be feasible in all patients. Simultaneous stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) to the tumor and nerve is another option. It is an effective means of treating meningiomas and trigeminal neuralgia separately, but there is limited data regarding the efficacy and outcomes of their concomitant treatment. CASE DESCRIPTION/METHODS:We present our series of four patients who presented with trigeminal neuralgia secondary to a petroclival mass causing compression of the trigeminal nerve. All patients underwent SRS to both the petroclival mass and trigeminal nerve in a single-session. The average margin tumor dose was 12.25Gy (range, 12 to 12.5Gy) and average maximum trigeminal nerve dose was 80Gy (range, 75 to 85Gy). Barrow Neurologic Institute (BNI) Pain Intensity Scores in all patients prior to intervention were a grade IV or V. At last follow-up (average = 29.8 months), all patients were pain free (BNI I or IIIA). Two patients experienced reduced facial sensation in either one or all three distributions. No brainstem edema was seen. CONCLUSION/CONCLUSIONS:This series highlights the benefit and safety of simultaneous treatment of petroclival tumors and the trigeminal nerve in a single session for patients affected by tumor related trigeminal neuralgia.

The novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) has created a deadly pandemic that is now significantly impacting the United States. Otolaryngologists are considered high risk for contracting disease, as the virus resides in the nasal cavity, nasopharynx, and oropharynx. While valuable work has been publicized regarding several topics in Rhinology, we discuss other aspects of our specialty in further detail. There are several issues regarding Rhinologic practice that need to be clarified both for the current epidemic as well as for future expected "waves." In addition, as the pandemic dies down, guidelines are needed to optimize safe practices as we start seeing more patients again. These include protocols pertinent to safety, in-office Rhinologic procedures, the substitution of imaging for endoscopy, and understanding the appropriate role of telemedicine. We discuss these aspects of Rhinology as well as practical concerns relating to telemedicine and billing, as these issues take on increasing importance for Rhinologists both in the present and the future.